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Chapter 23

The Plagues of Egypt

Aaron, being instructed by angels, went forth to meet his
brother, from whom he had been so long separated; and
they met amid the desert solitudes, near Horeb. Here they
communed together, and Moses told Aaron “all the words of the
Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which He had
commanded him.” Exodus 4:28. Together they journeyed to Egypt;
and having reached the land of Goshen, they proceeded to
assemble the elders of Israel. Aaron repeated to them all the
dealings of God with Moses, and then the signs which God had given
Moses were shown before the people. “The people believed: and
when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel,
and that He had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed
their heads and worshiped.” Verse 31.
Moses had been charged also with a message for the king.
The two brothers entered the palace of the Pharaohs as ambassadors
from the King of kings, and they spoke in His name: “Thus
saith Jehovah, God of Israel, Let My people go, that they may
hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.”
“Who is Jehovah, that I should obey His voice to let Israel
go?” demanded the monarch; “I know not Jehovah, neither will
I let Israel go.”
Their answer was, “The God of the Hebrews hath met with
us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert,
and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest He fall upon us with
pestilence, or with the sword.”
Tidings of them and of the interest they were exciting among
the people had already reached the king. His anger was kindled.
“Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let [hinder] the people
from their works?” he said. “Get you unto your burdens.”
Already the kingdom had suffered loss by the interference of these
strangers. At thought of this he added, “Behold, the people of the

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land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.”
In their bondage the Israelites had to some extent lost the
knowledge of God’s law, and they had departed from its precepts. The
Sabbath had been generally disregarded, and the exactions of
their taskmasters made its observance apparently impossible. But
Moses had shown his people that obedience to God was the first
condition of deliverance; and the efforts made to restore the observance
of the Sabbath had come to the notice of their oppressors.
[*See Appendix, Note 1.]
The king, thoroughly roused, suspected the Israelites of a
design to revolt from his service. Disaffection was the result of
idleness; he would see that no time was left them for dangerous
scheming. And he at once adopted measures to tighten their
bonds and crush out their independent spirit. The same day
orders were issued that rendered their labor still more cruel and
oppressive. The most common building material of that country
was sun-dried brick; the walls of the finest edifices were made of
this, and then faced with stone; and the manufacture of brick
employed great numbers of the bondmen. Cut straw being intermixed
with the clay, to hold it together, large quantities of straw
were required for the work; the king now directed that no more
straw be furnished; the laborers must find it for themselves,
while the same amount of brick should be exacted.
This order produced great distress among the Israelites
throughout the land. The Egyptian taskmasters had appointed
Hebrew officers to oversee the work of the people, and these
officers were responsible for the labor performed by those under
their charge. When the requirement of the king was put in force,
the people scattered themselves throughout the land, to gather
stubble instead of straw; but they found it impossible to accomplish
the usual amount of labor. For this failure the Hebrew officers
were cruelly beaten.
These officers supposed that their oppression came from their
taskmasters, and not from the king himself; and they went to
him with their grievances. Their remonstrance was met by Pharaoh
with a taunt: “Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let
us go and do sacrifice to the Lord.” They were ordered back to
their work, with the declaration that their burdens were in no
case to be lightened. Returning, they met Moses and Aaron, and
cried out to them, “The Lord look upon you, and judge; because
ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and
in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.”

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As Moses listened to these reproaches he was greatly distressed.
The sufferings of the people had been much increased. All over
the land a cry of despair went up from old and young, and all
united in charging upon him the disastrous change in their condition.
In bitterness of soul he went before God, with the cry,
“Lord, wherefore hast Thou so evil entreated this people? why
is it that Thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to
speak in Thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither
hast Thou delivered Thy people at all.” The answer was, “Now
shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand
shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them
out of his land.” Again he was pointed back to the covenant
which God had made with the fathers, and was assured that it
would be fulfilled.
During all the years of servitude in Egypt there had been
among the Israelites some who adhered to the worship of Jehovah.
These were solely troubled as they saw their children daily
witnessing the abominations of the heathen, and even bowing
down to their false gods. In their distress they cried unto the
Lord for deliverance from the Egyptian yoke, that they might be
freed from the corrupting influence of idolatry. They did not
conceal their faith, but declared to the Egyptians that the object
of their worship was the Maker of heaven and earth, the only
true and living God. They rehearsed the evidences of His existence
and power, from creation down to the days of Jacob. The
Egyptians thus had an opportunity to become acquainted with
the religion of the Hebrews; but disdaining to be instructed by
their slaves, they tried to seduce the worshipers of God by
promises of reward, and, this failing, by threats and cruelty.
The elders of Israel endeavored to sustain the sinking faith of
their brethren by repeating the promises made to their fathers,
and the prophetic words of Joseph before his death, foretelling
their deliverance from Egypt. Some would listen and believe.
Others, looking at the circumstances that surrounded them,
refused to hope. The Egyptians, being informed of what was
reported among their bondmen, derided their expectations and
scornfully denied the power of their God. They pointed to their
situation as a nation of slaves, and tauntingly said, “If your God
is just and merciful, and possesses power above that of the
Egyptian gods, why does He not make you a free people?” They
called attention to their own condition. They worshiped deities

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termed by the Israelites false gods, yet they were a rich and powerful
nation. They declared that their gods had blessed them with
prosperity, and had given them the Israelites as servants, and
they gloried in their power to oppress and destroy the worshipers
of Jehovah. Pharaoh himself boasted that the God of the Hebrews
could not deliver them from his hand.
Words like these destroyed the hopes of many of the Israelites.
The case appeared to them very much as the Egyptians had
represented. It was true that they were slaves, and must endure
whatever their cruel taskmasters might choose to inflict. Their
children had been hunted and slain, and their own lives were a
burden. Yet they were worshiping the God of heaven. If Jehovah
were indeed above all gods, surely He would not thus leave them
in bondage to idolaters. But those who were true to God understood
that it was because of Israel’s departure from Him—because
of their disposition to marry with heathen nations, thus being
led into idolatry—that the Lord had permitted them to become
bondmen; and they confidently assured their brethren that He
would soon break the yoke of the oppressor.
The Hebrews had expected to obtain their freedom without
any special trial of their faith or any real suffering or hardship.
But they were not yet prepared for deliverance. They had little
faith in God, and were unwilling patiently to endure their
afflictions until He should see fit to work for them. Many were
content to remain in bondage rather than meet the difficulties
attending removal to a strange land; and the habits of some had
become so much like those of the Egyptians that they preferred
to dwell in Egypt. Therefore the Lord did not deliver them by
the first manifestation of His power before Pharaoh. He overruled
events more fully to develop the tyrannical spirit of the Egyptian
king and also to reveal Himself to His people. Beholding His
justice, His power, and His love, they would choose to leave
Egypt and give themselves to His service. The task of Moses
would have been much less difficult had not many of the Israelites
become so corrupted that they were unwilling to leave Egypt.
The Lord directed Moses to go again to the people and repeat
the promise of deliverance, with a fresh assurance of divine favor.
He went as he was commanded; but they would not listen. Says
the Scripture, “They hearkened not . . . for anguish of spirit,
and for cruel bondage.” Again the divine message came to Moses,

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“Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children
of Israel go out of his land.” In discouragement he replied, “Behold,
the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how
then shall Pharaoh hear me?” He was told to take Aaron with
him and go before Pharaoh, and again demand “that he send
the children of Israel out of his land.”
He was informed that the monarch would not yield until God
should visit judgments upon Egypt and bring out Israel by the
signal manifestation of His power. Before the infliction of each
plague, Moses was to describe its nature and effects, that the king
might save himself from it if he chose. Every punishment rejected
would be followed by one more severe, until his proud
heart would be humbled, and he would acknowledge the Maker
of heaven and earth as the true and living God. The Lord would
give the Egyptians an opportunity to see how vain was the wisdom
of their mighty men, how feeble the power of their gods,
when opposed to the commands of Jehovah. He would punish
the people of Egypt for their idolatry and silence their boasting
of the blessings received from their senseless deities. God would
glorify His own name, that other nations might hear of His power
and tremble at His mighty acts, and that His people might be
led to turn from their idolatry and render Him pure worship.
Again Moses and Aaron entered the lordly halls of the king
of Egypt. There, surrounded by lofty columns and glittering
adornments, by the rich paintings and sculptured images of
heathen gods, before the monarch of the most powerful kingdom
then in existence, stood the two representatives of the enslaved
race, to repeat the command from God for Israel’s release. The
king demanded a miracle, in evidence of their divine commission.
Moses and Aaron had been directed how to act in case such a demand
should be made, and Aaron now took the rod and cast it
down before Pharaoh. It became a serpent. The monarch sent
for his “wise men and the sorcerers,” who “cast down every man
his rod and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed
up their rods.” Then the king, more determined than before,
declared his magicians equal in power with Moses and Aaron;
he denounced the servants of the Lord as impostors, and felt
himself secure in resisting their demands. Yet while he despised
their message, he was restrained by divine power from doing
them harm.

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It was the hand of God, and no human influence or power
possessed by Moses and Aaron, that wrought the miracles which
they showed before Pharaoh. Those signs and wonders were
designed to convince Pharaoh that the great “I AM” had sent
Moses, and that it was the duty of the king to let Israel go, that
they might serve the living God. The magicians also showed
signs and wonders; for they wrought not by their own skill alone,
but by the power of their god, Satan, who assisted them in
counterfeiting the work of Jehovah.
The magicians did not really cause their rods to become serpents;
but by magic, aided by the great deceiver, they were able
to produce this appearance. It was beyond the power of Satan to
change the rods to living serpents. The prince of evil, though
possessing all the wisdom and might of an angel fallen, has not
power to create, or to give life; this is the prerogative of God
alone. But all that was in Satan’s power to do, he did; he produced
a counterfeit. To human sight the rods were changed to
serpents. Such they were believed to be by Pharaoh and his
court. There was nothing in their appearance to distinguish
them from the serpent produced by Moses. Though the Lord
caused the real serpent to swallow up the spurious ones, yet even
this was regarded by Pharaoh, not as a work of God’s power, but
as the result of a kind of magic superior to that of his servants.
Pharaoh desired to justify his stubbornness in resisting the
divine command, and hence he was seeking some pretext for
disregarding the miracles that God had wrought through Moses.
Satan gave him just what he wanted. By the work that he
wrought through the magicians he made it appear to the Egyptians
that Moses and Aaron were only magicians and sorcerers,
and that the message they brought could not claim respect as
coming from a superior being. Thus Satan’s counterfeit accomplished
its purpose of emboldening the Egyptians in their rebellion
and causing Pharaoh to harden his heart against conviction.
Satan hoped also to shake the faith of Moses and Aaron in the
divine origin of their mission, that his instruments might prevail.
He was unwilling that the children of Israel should be released
from bondage to serve the living God.
But the prince of evil had a still deeper object in manifesting
his wonders through the magicians. He well knew that Moses,
in breaking the yoke of bondage from off the children of Israel,
pre-figured Christ, who was to break the reign of sin over the

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human family. He knew that when Christ should appear, mighty
miracles would be wrought as an evidence to the world that God
had sent Him. Satan trembled for his power. By counterfeiting
the work of God through Moses, he hoped not only to prevent the
deliverance of Israel, but to exert an influence through future ages
to destroy faith in the miracles of Christ. Satan is constantly
seeking to counterfeit the work of Christ and to establish his
own power and claims. He leads men to account for the miracles
of Christ by making them appear to be the result of human skill
and power. In many minds he thus destroys faith in Christ as
the Son of God, and leads them to reject the gracious offers of
mercy through the plan of redemption.
Moses and Aaron were directed to visit the riverside next
morning, where the king was accustomed to repair. The overflowing
of the Nile being the source of food and wealth for all
Egypt, the river was worshiped as a god, and the monarch came
thither daily to pay his devotions. Here the two brothers again
repeated the message to him, and then they stretched out the rod
and smote upon the water. The sacred stream ran blood, the
fish died, and the river became offensive to the smell. The water
in the houses, the supply preserved in cisterns, was likewise
changed to blood. But “the magicians of Egypt did so with
their enchantments,” and “Pharaoh turned and went into his
house, neither did he set his heart to this also.” For seven days
the plague continued, but without effect.
Again the rod was stretched out over the waters, and frogs
came up from the river and spread over the land. They overran
the houses, took possession of the bed chambers, and even the
ovens and kneading troughs. The frog was regarded as sacred by
the Egyptians, and they would not destroy it; but the slimy pests
had now become intolerable. They swarmed even in the palace of
the Pharaohs, and the king was impatient to have them removed.
The magicians had appeared to produce frogs, but they could
not remove them. Upon seeing this, Pharaoh was somewhat
humbled. He sent for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat the
Lord, that He may take away the frogs from me, and from my
people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice
unto the Lord.” After reminding the king of his former boasting,
they requested him to appoint a time when they should pray for
the removal of the plague. He set the next day, secretly hoping
that in the interval the frogs might disappear of themselves, and

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thus save him from the bitter humiliation of submitting to the
God of Israel. The plague, however, continued till the time specified,
when throughout all Egypt the frogs died, but their putrid
bodies, which remained, polluted the atmosphere.
The Lord could have caused them to return to dust in a
moment; but He did not do this lest after their removal the king
and his people should pronounce it the result of sorcery or
enchantment, like the work of the magicians. The frogs died, and
were then gathered together in heaps. Here the king and all
Egypt had evidence which their vain philosophy could not
gainsay, that this work was not accomplished by magic, but
was a judgment from the God of heaven.
“When Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his
heart.” At the command of God, Aaron stretched out his hand,
and the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land of
Egypt. Pharaoh called upon the magicians to do the same, but
they could not. The work of God was thus shown to be superior
to that of Satan. The magicians themselves acknowledged, “This
is the finger of God.” But the king was still unmoved.
Appeal and warning were ineffectual, and another judgment
was inflicted. The time of its occurrence was foretold, that it
might not be said to have come by chance. Flies filled the houses
and swarmed upon the ground, so that “the land was corrupted
by reason of the swarms of flies.” These flies were large and venomous,
and their bite was extremely painful to man and beast.
As had been foretold, this visitation did not extend to the land
of Goshen.
Pharaoh now offered the Israelites permission to sacrifice in
Egypt, but they refused to accept such conditions. “It is not
meet,” said Moses; “lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the
Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?” The
animals which the Hebrews would be required to sacrifice were
among those regarded as sacred by the Egyptians; and such was
the reverence in which these creatures were held, that to slay one,
even accidentally, was a crime punishable with death. It would
be impossible for the Hebrews to worship in Egypt without
giving offense to their masters. Moses again proposed to go three
days’ journey into the wilderness. The monarch consented, and
begged the servants of God to entreat that the plague might be
removed. They promised to do this, but warned him against

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dealing deceitfully with them. The plague was stayed, but the
king’s heart had become hardened by persistent rebellion, and
he still refused to yield.
A more terrible stroke followed—murrain upon all the Egyptian
cattle that were in the field. Both the sacred animals and the
beasts of burden—kine and oxen and sheep, horses and camels
and asses—were destroyed. It had been distinctly stated that the
Hebrews were to be exempt; and Pharaoh, on sending messengers
to the home of the Israelites, proved the truth of this declaration
of Moses. “Of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.”
Still the king was obstinate.
Moses was next directed to take ashes of the furnace, and
“sprinkle it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.” This act
was deeply significant. Four hundred years before, God had
shown to Abraham the future oppression of His people, under
the figure of a smoking furnace and a burning lamp. He had
declared that He would visit judgments upon their oppressors, and
would bring forth the captives with great substance. In Egypt,
Israel had long languished in the furnace of affliction. This act
of Moses was an assurance to them that God was mindful of His
covenant, and that the time for their deliverance had come.
As the ashes were sprinkled toward heaven, the fine particles
spread over all the land of Egypt, and wherever they settled,
produced boils “breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon
beast.” The priests and magicians had hitherto encouraged Pharaoh
in his stubbornness, but now a judgment had come that
reached even them. Smitten with a loathsome and painful disease,
their vaunted power only making them contemptible, they were
no longer able to contend against the God of Israel. The whole
nation was made to see the folly of trusting in the magicians,
when they were not able to protect even their own persons.
Still the heart of Pharaoh grew harder. And now the Lord
sent a message to him, declaring, “I will at this time send all My
plagues upon thy heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy
people; that thou mayest know that there is none like Me in all
the earth. . . . And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee
up, for to show in thee My power.” Not that God had given him
an existence for this purpose, but His providence had overruled
events to place him upon the throne at the very time appointed
for Israel’s deliverance. Though this haughty tyrant had by his

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crimes forfeited the mercy of God, yet his life had been preserved
that through his stubbornness the Lord might manifest
His wonders in the land of Egypt. The disposing of events is of
God’s providence. He could have placed upon the throne a more
merciful king, who would not have dared to withstand the mighty
manifestations of divine power. But in that case the Lord’s purposes
would not have been accomplished. His people were permitted
to experience the grinding cruelty of the Egyptians, that
they might not be deceived concerning the debasing influence of
idolatry. In His dealing with Pharaoh, the Lord manifested His
hatred of idolatry and His determination to punish cruelty and
oppression.
God had declared concerning Pharaoh, “I will harden his
heart, that he shall not let the people go.” Exodus 4:21. There
was no exercise of supernatural power to harden the heart of
the king. God gave to Pharaoh the most striking evidence of
divine power, but the monarch stubbornly refused to heed the
light. Every display of infinite power rejected by him, rendered
him the more determined in his rebellion. The seeds of rebellion
that he sowed when he rejected the first miracle, produced their
harvest. As he continued to venture on in his own course, going
from one degree of stubbornness to another, his heart became
more and more hardened, until he was called to look upon the
cold, dead faces of the first-born.
God speaks to men through His servants, giving cautions and
warnings, and rebuking sin. He gives to each an opportunity to
correct his errors before they become fixed in the character; but
if one refuses to be corrected, divine power does not interpose to
counteract the tendency of his own action. He finds it more
easy to repeat the same course. He is hardening the heart against
the influence of the Holy Spirit. A further rejection of light places
him where a far stronger influence will be ineffectual to make an
abiding impression.
He who has once yielded to temptation will yield more readily
the second time. Every repetition of the sin lessens his power of
resistance, blinds his eyes, and stifles conviction. Every seed of
indulgence sown will bear fruit. God works no miracle to prevent
the harvest. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap.” Galatians 6:7. He who manifests an infidel hardihood, a
stolid indifference to divine truth, is but reaping the harvest of

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that which he has himself sown. It is thus that multitudes come
to listen with stoical indifference to the truths that once stirred
their very souls. They sowed neglect and resistance to the truth,
and such is the harvest which they reap.
Those who are quieting a guilty conscience with the thought
that they can change a course of evil when they choose, that they
can trifle with the invitations of mercy, and yet be again and
again impressed, take this course at their peril. They think that
after casting all their influence on the side of the great rebel, in a
moment of utmost extremity, when danger compasses them about,
they will change leaders. But this is not so easily done. The
experience, the education, the discipline of a life of sinful
indulgence, has so thoroughly molded the character that they cannot
then receive the image of Jesus. Had no light shone upon
their pathway, the case would have been different. Mercy might
interpose, and give them an opportunity to accept her overtures;
but after light has been long rejected and despised, it will be
finally withdrawn.
A plague of hail was next threatened upon Pharaoh, with the
warning, “Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that
thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall
be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail
shall come down upon them, and they shall die.” Rain or hail
was unusual in Egypt, and such a storm as was foretold had
never been witnessed. The report spread rapidly, and all who believed
the word of the Lord gathered in their cattle, while those
who despised the warning left them in the field. Thus in the
midst of judgment the mercy of God was displayed, the people
were tested, and it was shown how many had been led to fear
God by the manifestation of His power.
The storm came as predicted—thunder and hail, and fire
mingled with it, “very grievous, such as there was none like it
in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail
smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field,
both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field,
and brake every tree of the field.” Ruin and desolation marked
the path of the destroying angel. The land of Goshen alone was
spared. It was demonstrated to the Egyptians that the earth is
under the control of the living God, that the elements obey His
voice, and that the only safety is in obedience to Him.

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All Egypt trembled before the awful outpouring of divine
judgment. Pharaoh hastily sent for the two brothers, and cried
out, “I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my
people are wicked. Entreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there
be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go,
and ye shall stay no longer.” The answer was, “As soon as I am
gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord;
and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail;
that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord’s. But
as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the
Lord God.”
Moses knew that the contest was not ended. Pharaoh’s confessions
and promises were not the effect of any radical change in
his mind or heart, but were wrung from him by terror and anguish.
Moses promised, however, to grant his request; for he
would give him no occasion for further stubbornness. The prophet
went forth, unheeding the fury of the tempest, and Pharaoh and
all his host were witnesses to the power of Jehovah to preserve
His messenger. Having passed without the city, Moses “spread
abroad his hands unto the Lord: and the thunders and hail
ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.” But no
sooner had the king recovered from his fears than his heart
returned to its perversity.
Then the Lord said unto Moses, “Go in unto Pharaoh: for I
have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I
might show these My signs before him; and that thou mayest tell
in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have
wrought in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them;
that ye may know how that I am Jehovah.” The Lord was manifesting
His power, to confirm the faith of Israel in Him as the
only true and living God. He would give unmistakable evidence
of the difference He placed between them and the Egyptians,
and would cause all nations to know that the Hebrews, whom
they had despised and oppressed, were under the protection of
the God of heaven.
Moses warned the monarch that if he still remained obstinate,
a plague of locusts would be sent, which would cover the face of
The earth and eat up every green thing that remained; they would
fill the houses, even the palace itself; such a scourge, he said, as
“neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen, since the
day that they were upon the earth unto this day.”

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The counselors of Pharaoh stood aghast. The nation had
sustained great loss in the death of their cattle. Many of the people
had been killed by the hail. The forests were broken down
and the crops destroyed. They were fast losing all that had been
gained by the labor of the Hebrews. The whole land was threatened
with starvation. Princes and courtiers pressed about the
king and angrily demanded, “How long shall this man be a snare
unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God:
knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?”
Moses and Aaron were again summoned, and the monarch
said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they
that shall go?”
The answer was, “We will go with our young and with our
old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and
with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the
Lord.”
The king was filled with rage. “Let the Lord be so with you,”
he cried, “as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for
evil is before you. Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the
Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from
Pharaoh’s presence.” Pharaoh had endeavored to destroy the
Israelites by hard labor, but he now pretended to have a deep
interest in their welfare and a tender care for their little ones.
His real object was to keep the women and children as surety for
the return of the men.
Moses now stretched forth his rod over the land, and an east
wind blew, and brought locusts. “Very grievous were they; before
them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them
shall be such.” They filled the sky till the land was darkened,
and devoured every green thing remaining. Pharaoh sent for the
prophets in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord
your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive, I pray thee,
my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that He
may take away from me this death only.” They did so, and a
strong west wind carried away the locusts toward the Red Sea.
Still the king persisted in his stubborn resolution.
The people of Egypt were ready to despair. The scourges that
had already fallen upon them seemed almost beyond endurance,
and they were filled with fear for the future. The nation had
worshiped Pharaoh as a representative of their god, but many

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were now convinced that he was opposing himself to One who
made all the powers of nature the ministers of His will. The
Hebrew slaves, so miraculously favored, were becoming confident
of deliverance. Their taskmasters dared not oppress them as
heretofore. Throughout Egypt there was a secret fear that the
enslaved race would rise and avenge their wrongs. Everywhere
men were asking with bated breath, What will come next?
Suddenly a darkness settled upon the land, so thick and black
that it seemed a “darkness which may be felt.” Not only were the
people deprived of light, but the atmosphere was very oppressive,
so that breathing was difficult. “They saw not one another, neither
rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of
Israel had light in their dwellings.” The sun and moon were
objects of worship to the Egyptians; in this mysterious darkness
the people and their gods alike were smitten by the power that
had undertaken the cause of the bondmen.
[*See Appendix, Note 2.]
Yet fearful as it was, this judgment is an evidence of God’s compassion and His
unwillingness to destroy. He would give the people time for
reflection and repentance before bringing upon them the last and
most terrible of the plagues.
Fear at last wrung from Pharaoh a further concession. At
the end of the third day of darkness he summoned Moses, and
consented to the departure of the people, provided the flocks and
herds were permitted to remain. “There shall not an hoof be left
behind,” replied the resolute Hebrew. “We know not with what
we must serve the Lord, until we come thither.” The king’s anger
burst forth beyond control. “Get thee from me,” he cried, “take
heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest
my face thou shalt die.”
The answer was, “Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face
again no more.”
“The man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the
sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.” Moses
was regarded with awe by the Egyptians. The king dared not
harm him, for the people looked upon him as alone possessing
power to remove the plagues. They desired that the Israelites
might be permitted to leave Egypt. It was the king and the
priests that opposed to the last the demands of Moses.